A review by lahren
The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

4.5

4.5 stars

This was so cute. As someone who has never watched (nor wanted to watch) the Bachelor, I had been hesitant to add this to my TBR, but I had seen enough glowing reviews of it that I figured it was worth a read.

I really appreciated this book having both mental health rep and demi rep as a somewhat central focus. In particular I appreciated how it handled Dev's depression in that it didn't paint a picture where his depression was magically cured just because he found love. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Charlie's OCD. In the beginning of the book his compulsions seem to make it really hard for him to function, but once he and Dev come together, it feels like a lot of that really just faded away because it wasn't convenient for the romance. That particular handling is probably my biggest criticism for this book because for me it felt like it diminished the value of this book trying to accurately represent a neurodivergent character. 

But like, the romance was still cute, Dev and Charlie were adorable together, and the fairy tale ending I was hoping for — however unrealistic — was given to us. I think this book could probably have been maybe 50-75 pages shorter since a lot of things that happened in the middle felt repetitive and as though they were circling around the same issues over and over again. I still enjoyed reading this book though and finished it in one sitting, (which I almost never do) so I think it deserves the round-up it's getting.